I am new to posting, so please forgive me if I do something wrong. I'm only brave enough to post now because I'm desperate.

We're having the house sided in Hardie Sail Cloth with Arctic White trim. There is a little red brick showing. Light fixtures are black, and door hardware is brushed nickel.

We want black or dark gray door and shutters (On our house, one color works better than two, and I just accent the door with a wreath). What black looks good with Sail Cloth? Specific brands and colors greatly appreciated!

SW Tricorn seemed too stark. BM Black Knight is greener than I like, and Midnight was just...blah (too teal? too light? All I know is none of us liked it).

Somebody said SW Inkwell was a good historic black, so I figured it was a safe bet, but the SW man looked horrifed and steered me away from it. He suggested Sealskin, which I'm sure looks good with the Sailcloth if you like brown undertones, but they remind me of the beige/brown that's all over my mother's nursing home.

But sitting here at home, I still think the Inkwell chip looks good against the sample Hardie. And it looks like a beautiful blue-black, my favorite kind. Would that work, or is the SW man right? Will such a dark color be gaudy when there are big chunks of it all over the front of a pale house?

Should we go with something lighter? An entirely different color? We are open to suggestions, but we have had red for over 20 years and are ready for a change. Other colors I'm considering are BM Baby Seal Black,Black Tar, Blacktop, some shade of blue, and the list goes on. Heaven help me, I've even considered green.

I am terrible at picking colors. Please help before we have to take out a loan to finance my paint samples!